Derby boss Wayne Rooney admits he found former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo "annoying".

Speaking at an exclusive black-tie dinner event in Manchester on Saturday night, Rooney did not hold back in delivering his verdict on players past and present at Old Trafford.

Recalling lining up alongside Ronaldo, Rooney said, via The Sun: "Cristiano was so good and so f***ing annoying at the same time.

"He is probably not as good now but he is probably just as annoying."

Rooney also took a cheeky swipe at the play-acting from Ronaldo which saw him red carded in 2006, adding: "He likes diving."

He went on to say: "I had no issue with Cristiano whatsoever. I spoke to him in the tunnel. I said, 'I have no issue with you getting me sent off', because I'd spent the first half trying to get him booked for diving.

"I am English, he is Portuguese. When we are playing I do not give a f*** about him. He is not my mate. But when we have finished, we are mates again."